In Defense of Moral Victories

Adam Zimmerman

There are no moral victories.

At the end of the day, all that matters is what's on the scoreboard.

You're only as good as your record.

These are all very common saying by players, coaches, owners and fans after losing close games to better teams. In the sports world, where you play for one reason, you are not allowed to be the slightest bit OK with a loss.


Maybe I've been beaten down so much over the last few years by so many Dallas Cowboys and Tennessee Volunteers losses  in games that they could've/should've/would've won if it had not been for...well tons of reasons. (I'm not throwing Texas in here because they have too much to talent to play anyone they are supposed to lose to) Maybe I'm still not willing to accept that I have to root for a team that now has both Tony Romo and Derek Dooley. Maybe I coached middle schoolers for too long and had to give the "it's how you play the game" speech to too many uncoordinated, spoiled, soft kids. But I think that there really may be such a thing as a moral victory.

Now before we go any further, I want to be clear that I am speaking for the fans. Players and coaches cannot afford to be OK with a loss. But that's not really ever an issue because no one gets even close to being a college athlete, let alone the professionals, without hating losing or even coming in 2nd since they were 6 years old. I guarantee you that Tony Romo, Dez Bryant, Justin Worley, Lebron James and everyone else who has been criticized for not being able to "win the big one" was the sorest loser in middle schoole and got to where they are because of how much they hated losing and how hard they worked to prevent losing again. That is the difference between us and them. 

All that being said, can fans claim moral victories? Is it okay to be okay with a loss? I think so. Does that make you less of a fan? A soft, 2013, care-more-about-your-fantasy-team-than-real-team fan? In my humble opinion, no. I think it makes you a smarter fan. A more sane fan. A fan that's more suited for the long haul. A fan that ultimately has more intelligent stuff to say than, "We need to run the ball more!" or "If only they could block and tackle."

How can I say this? Because not all losses (or wins for that matter) are created equal. I'll provide you some very recent examples:

October 5, 2013 Georgia at Tennessee

I'd have to look up when the last time the Vols beat either Florida or Alabama but I do know the last time they beat Georgia, Lane Kiffin was the coach so it's part of a time we are all trying to block out. This season, Tennessee has been blown out of the water by Oregon (which will happen to everyone this season) and Florida in their only true tests so far. As the Georgia game approached, news of a 10.5 line in favor of Georgia was received with shock by Tennessee fans. How did Vegas think we could keep it that close? But that is why they play the game. Tennessee played its best game since the Kiffin Yeara and came within 4 inches and a lack of stickum on Pig Howard's gloves from winning the game.

October 6, 2013 Denver at Dallas

Raise your hand if you expected Peyton and the Broncos to have put this away by the end of the 3rd Quarter. I know I did. We all know what happened though, just as Cowboys fans found themselves thinking they would win the game, they lost. After the game, owner Jerruh Jones said that this was a moral victory for his team. He was immediately ridiculed and the clip was played on every Monday sports talk show on TV and radio.

Two losses. Two crushed fan bases. Two downtrodden teams having to once again answer questions after another heartbreaking loss. While the players should not be satisfied with these results, what about fans? What about Jerruh?

I think Tennessee fans can definitely claim this as a moral victory if they'd like. Not only was Neyland Stadium as loud as it's been in nearly 5 years, Tennessee was hosting over SIXTY of their top recruits who were immensely impressed with what they saw. This was never going to be a season in which Tennessee competed for the SEC Championship. It looks like a team that will be bowl eligible, but a win against Georgia was never seriously on the table. So why is it blasphemy to suggest that fans should be just has happy with a 3 point loss as they would've with a 3 point win? I mean, these players will take that feeling (whether it's being pissed at another loss or proud of the way they played) into this week's practice, next week's practice, and the offseason. The coaching staff will be able to use it as a huge teaching tool and another reason to buy into their program. Boosters and recruits are happy with what they see (which equals money and commitments). Would I have been over the moon if Tennessee had won? Of course. But with the scored tied at the end of regulation, Tennessee really couldn't lose. (Now, it's up to Butch and his team to use this momentum and not waste it like Dooley's Volunteers did after a close loss to LSU in his first season)

But the Cowboys are professionals!! Their fans should only demand the best (they are America's Team after all). Like the Volunteers, the extent to which the Denver game can be called a moral victory will be determined by how the team responds, how it uses the successes and failures from that game to better themselves over the next 11 games and into the playoffs. So maybe my theory doesn't hold up in the NFL when momentum and perception of the program mean less than your record. But I will say that a team's record can be greatly affected by that team's perception of itself.

My point in all this is that sometimes, the final score has little indication of what happened during the game or how good either team is. If you've ever looked at a football I'm sure you noticed that it's not perfectly round. Its shape causes it to bounce funny ways. Sometimes it bounces your way and sometimes it doesn't but the best teams are the ones who put the game away before that matters. At least this is what I'll keep telling myself til my teams start actually winning again.